Practice putting device

ABSTRACT

Equipment for use in practising putting comprises a frustoconical cup pivoted to a stirrup for movement about a horizontal axis and the stirrup is pivoted to a base for movement about a vertical axis. One end of the cup normally rests on the ground so that a golf ball can be projected into it. The other end of the cup includes circumferentially spaced members which extend into the path of ball putted into the cup to arrest same, but allow the egress of the ball if it is traveling at too great a velocity.

United States Patent Keicher Oct. 14, 1975 [54] PRACTICE PUTTING DEVICEFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 1 lnvemorl Charles Augustus Keicher,Fair 658,096 10/1951 United Kingdom 273 177 A Way, Northway, Tewkesbury,Gloucestcrsh're England Primary ExaminerGeorge J. Marlo [22] Filed:Sept. 30, 1974 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Young & Thompson Appl. No.:510,707

Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 29, 1973 United Kingdom 45652/73U.S. Cl 273/177 A; 273/127 D; 273/184 A lnt. Cl. A63B 57/00; A63B 71/00Field of Search 273/177 A, 178 A, 127 D,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Davenport 273/177 A ABSTRACTEquipment for use in practising putting comprises a frusto-conical cuppivoted to a stirrup for movement about a horizontal axis and thestirrup is pivoted to a base for movement about a vertical axis. One endof the cup normally rests on the ground so that a golf ball can beprojected into it. The other end of the cup includes circumferentiallyspaced members which extend into the path of ball putted into the cup toarrest same, but allow the egress of the ball if it is traveling at toogreat a velocity.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet 1 of23,912,276

Sheet 2 of 2 U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 PRACTICE PNG DEVICE Thisinvention relates to golfing equipment, and it is an object of theinvention to provide golfing equipment which can be used for bothpractising putting and for playing a putting game.

According to the invention golfing equipment comprises a receiver whichis open at one end to enable it to receive a golf ball, a stirrup havingpivot means for mounting the receiver for pivotal movement relative tothe stirrup about a generally horizontal axis and mounting meansenabling the stirrup to swivel about a substantially vertical axis, thepivot means for mounting the receiver being so arranged that, in use,the receiver is biassed into a position in which one end thereof restson the ground whereas, when a golf ball is projected into the receiver,the receiver will move about its pivot axis so that said one end movesclear of the ground.

The receiver is preferably in the form of a generally frusto-conical cupwhich is open at both ends, the pivot axis about which the cup movesrelative to the stirrup being nearer the smaller diameter end of the cupthan the larger end thereof. At said smaller diameter end, a series ofinwardly directed projections are conveniently provided within the cupand areso dimensioned that, if a golf ball is projected into the cup ata velocity greater than a predetermined velocity, the golf ball willpass through the space defined by said projections whereas, if thevelocity of the ball is less than said predetermined velocity, the ballwill be retained by the projections and will remain in the cup.

The stirrup and cup are preferably formed as mouldings of a syntheticplastics material and the mounting means for the stirrup preferablycomprises, for outdoor use, a spike or like element adapted to be driveninto the ground, the spike being provided at its upper end with meansfor cooperation with part of the stirrup whereby the spike can beattached to the stirrup in such manner as to permit the stirrup toswivel freely about a vertical axis relative to the spike. The spike maythus be formed at its upper end with a cylindrical socket adapted toreceive said part of the stirrup which is conveniently of steppedcylindrical form. The spike is preferably designed so as to havesnap-fitting engagement with said cylindrical part of the stirrup.

In an alternative arrangement, wherein the equipment is intended for useindoors, the mounting means for the stirrup includes a flat plate of,for example, steel and the plate is provided with a socket whichcorresponds to, and is of substantially the same dimensions as, thesocket of the spike.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of equipment for use outdoors in practisingputting,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the equipment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the equipment,

FIG. 4 is a detail view showing the method of attachment of two parts ofthe equipment and FIG. 5 is a detail view showing a base plate to whichthe stirrup can be attached to enable one to use the equipment indoors.

As shown in the drawings, the equipment for outdoor use comprises aspike 10, a stirrup l 1 which is arranged to swivel relative to thespike about a vertical axis and a receiver 12 in the form of a cup whichpivots relative to the stirrup 11 about a horizontal axis. The receiver12 is formed as a one-piece moulding from a synthetic plastics materialsuch as polypropylene and is of slightly tapering form from one end 13towards the other end 14 thereof. The receiver 12 is provided withexternal reinforcing ribs 15 formed integrally with stub shafts 16 whichprovide pins for the pivotal mounting of the receiver. The spike 10 andstirrup 11 are also formed as one-piece plastics mouldings.

The shafts 16 have snap-fit engagements with bifurcated end portions 17of the arms of the stirrup 11, the shafts 16 being free to rotate withinthe bearing means afforded by the end portions 17 and the shafts beingdisposed nearer to end 14 of the receiver than to end 13 thereof. Thismeans that the receiver 12 is normally biassed gravitationally into theposition shown in full lines in FIG. 1. In this position the lip of thereceiver rests on the ground so that, when a golf ball is projected inthe correct direction towards the receiver, the ball will enter thereceiver.

inwardly directed projections 18 (see particularly FIG. 3) are providedat end 14 of the receiver 12 and the purpose of these projections is toarrest any golf balls which enter the receiver with less than apredetermined momentum. If, however, a golf ball is given a considerableimpact, the ball will travel past the projections 18 without beingarrested thereby.

The arms of the stirrup 11 are of cranked form as can be seen from FIG.3 and the base 19 of the stirrup is moulded integrally with a downwardextension 20 of stepped cylindrical form, the lower portion of theextension 20 being split so as to provide, in effect, a plurality ofdepending fingers. This portion of the extension 20 fits into a socket21 of the spike 10, the base of the socket 21 being preferably slightlyundercut to provide a circumferential recess in which outward formationsof said fingers can be received. The stirrup 11 thus has a snap-fitengagement with the spike 10. The bore of the socket 21 is enlarged atits upper end to provide a horizontal bearing surface 22 on which thestep of the extension 20 is supported. The weight of the stirrup 11 andreceiver 12 is transmitted to the spike 10 through the surface of thestep and said surface 22 but the dimensions thereof are such that thefrictional and load-derived forces acting between the surfaces do notprevent free rotation of the stirrup 11 about a vertical axis relativeto the spike 10.

In use of the equipment, the spike 10 is driven into the ground so thata downwardly directed surface 23 thereof is at ground level, thereceiver 12 tilts gravitationally into position in which the lip of thereceiver at end 13 thereof rests on the ground and the receiver 12 andstirrup 11 are pivoted about a vertical axis relative to the spike 10 sothat the central axis of the receiver is aligned with the direction inwhich it is intended that a golf ball will be hit. The ball is thenputted towards the receiver and, if the direction in which the ball istravelling is correct, the ball will enter the receiver. If the ball isnot putted in the correct direction it will either miss the receiver 12completely or strike the rim thereof without entering the receiver.

If the velocity at which the ball is projected is excessive, the ballwill travel past the projections 18 out of the receiver whereas, if theball is projecting at an insufficient velocity, it will roll into thereceiver and then roll out again. The object of the exercise is, ofcourse,

to putt the ball at such velocity that it enters the receiver 12,travels within the receiver into engagement with the projections 18 sothat the weight of the ball causes the receiver to pivot about thecommon axis of the shafts l6 and the ball is retained within thereceiver. A putt which has the above effect is considered to simulate asuccessful putt in a game of golf.

The base plate 24 shown in FIG. is intended to be used for indoorpractising, the base plate 24 being made of iron or other metal andhaving a socket 25 in which the stepped cylindrical extension of thestirrup 11 is fitted in such manner as to enable the stirrup 11 to pivotfreely relative to the base plate 24.

I claim:

1. Golfing equipment comprising a receiver which is open at one end toenable it to receive a golf ball, a stirrup having pivot means formounting the receiver for pivotal movement relative to the stirrup abouta gener ally horizontal axis, and mounting means enabling the stirrup toswivel about a substantially vertical axis, the configuration of thereceiver and the disposition of the axis about which the receiver pivotsrelative to the stirrup being such that the receiver is normally biassedinto an inclined position in which the lip of the receiver at said oneend is in the same place as the path of a ball projected towards thereceiver, the receiver being arranged to pivot in response to passage ofa ball into the receiver and beyond said pivot axis into a position inwhich the other end of the receiver is at a lower level than said oneend, said other end of the receiver being substantially open andcircumferentially spaced projecting means being provided at said otherend to arrest a ball travelling with a velocity less than apredetermined velocity whilst allowing a ball travelling with a velocitygreater than said predetermined velocity to pass therethrough.

2. Golfing equipment according to claim 1, wherein there are fourprojections constituting said projecting means and wherein two of saidprojections are disposed at one horizontal level and the other twoprojections are disposed at another horizontal level.

3. Golfing equipment according to claim 1, wherein the mounting meanscomprises a spike adapted, in use, to be driven into the ground, thespike being provided at its upper end with a socket and stirrupincluding a portion of stepped cylindrical form which includes a partwhich has a snap-fit engagement in the socket and a part which rests ona load-transmitting surface surrounding the socket.

1. Golfing equipment comprising a receiver which is open at one end toenable it to receive a golf ball, a stirrup having pivot means formounting the receiver for pivotal movement relative to the stirrup abouta generally horizontal axis, and mounting means enabling the stirrup toswivel about a substantially vertical axis, the configuration of thereceiver and the disposition of the axis about which the receiver pivotsrelative to the stirrup being such that the receiver is normally biassedinto an inclined position in which the lip of the receiver at said oneend is in the same place as the path of a ball projected towards thereceiver, the receiver being arranged to pivot in response to passage ofa ball into the receiver and beyond said pivot axis into a position inwhich the other end of the receiver is at a lower level than said oneend, said other end of the receiver being substantially open andcircumferentially spaced projecting means being provided at said otherend to arrest a ball travelling with a velocity less than apredetermined velocity whilst allowing a ball travelling with a velocitygreater than said predetermined velocity to pass therethrough. 2.Golfing equipment according to claim 1, wherein there are fourprojections constituting said projecting means and wherein two of saidprojections are disposed at one horizontal level and the other twoprojections are disposed at another horizontal level.
 3. Golfingequipment according to claim 1, wherein the mounting means comprises aspike adapted, in use, to be driven into the ground, the spike beingprovided at its upper end with a socket and stirrup including a portionof stepped cylindrical form which includes a part which has a snap-fitengagement in the socket and a part which rests on a load-transmittingsurface surrounding the socket.